NPL's commercial services are built on 100 years of leadership in accuracy, innovation and scientific research. Experienced consultants and project managers draw upon a unique combination of industry know-how and world-leading scientific discovery to deliver real-world business solutions and enable innovation and secure competitive advantage.

We strive to actively promote public awareness and appreciation of science and technology, particularly the importance of measurement and the role of NPL. Here you can find out more about the interesting things we do, science outreach activities you can get involved in or take a look at some of our educational resources.

Pip pip hooray!

Wednesday 5 February 2014 marks 90 years since the BBC first broadcast the six pip radio time signal.

Six candles for the six pips (image courtesy of iStockphoto)

The radio 'time pips' are most famously heard on BBC Radio 4 on the five seconds leading up to the hour and the hour itself. They are generated by a Time and Frequency distribution system housed at the BBC, which is kept in step by a combination of GPS signals and the 60 kHz MSF Time signal, broadcast from Anthorn radio station in Cumbria and based on the NPL time scale UTC(NPL).

UTC(NPL) is the UK's national time scale and is generated from a group of atomic clocks operated at NPL. As the UK's centre of precise time and frequency measurement, NPL offers a range of services that provide access to a reliable and trusted source of time and was recently named the birthplace of atomic timekeeping by the European Physical Society.